The Leopard
by AKashanScorpion
Summary: I'm not good with summaries, but here it goes: Erik is being pushed to his limit in the sweltering recesses of Persia. Constant demands for his buildings and his killings have created seething undercurrents of dissent in the court. Erik's escape will involve a dead European, a lascivious woman, and a large carnivorous cat... Rated T for violence and some "suggestive" stuff.
1. Chapter 1

I woke up, tensing instinctively. Someone– or some_thing_– was standing by my divan, their dark silhouette shadowing faintly in front of the closed drapes. Through slitted eyes I caught a faint gleam of light reflecting off of a knife blade held clenched in the figure's hand.

After a careful moment I relaxed and sighed inaudibly. Another assassin. I did not move as the knife was raised, nor when the would-be murderer stepped softly up to the bedside. I waited… until the timing was right.

Suddenly, swiftly, I rolled to one side and sprang lightly off of the cushions, catlike, lunging for my killer's throat. The man didn't even have time to scream. My hands fastened around his neck, and after deftly giving a quick twist, I dropped the body. The satisfying _crack! _of a broken neck had assured me of the stranger's death.

I stepped back and surveyed my kill, my yellow eyes needing no candlelight to see the damage I had done. For a moment I stood, then crouched down and examined the corpse. He was definitely not Persian, that was for sure. With pale skin and light hair, the man might have been a European—or a Russian. But there was no way to tell for certain what his country was: I certainly couldn't ask him!

The expression on the dead features was of absolute, indescribable horror: he must have caught sight of my unmasked face in the semi-darkness. No doubt his employer did not tell him…I felt a pang of anger and nausea at the idea that a mere glimpse of my features could cause such an agonized look of revulsion on any face. It only lasted for a second, however, before the unwanted feelings faded into the more comfortable—and predictable– senses of contempt and control.

I was sadly lacking in remorse.

The Khanum's drugs coupled with her insatiable demand for violence had long since repressed that particular emotion.

Finding nothing of value on the body, I rose from my crouched position and stretched, returning the divan and staring longingly out the window.

_Well, _I thought, _why not_? With no hope or desire to return to my sleep or the nightmares that would inevitably follow, I dressed and slipped out onto the balcony, dropping softly onto the courtyard below. Following the blue Persian tiles out of the palace complex, I turned right at the gates and disappeared into the dark, oppressing jungle.

I was immediately immersed in the rich, heavy sounds of insects and nocturnal animal life. I closed my eyes and smiled. Freedom. At least for a little while. I picked a direction and started walking, breezing past ferns without a so much as a rustle. Suddenly, a leopard jumped down in front of me, about ten feet off. Our eyes glowed in the dim moonlight as we looked each other.

After a minute, the leopard seemed to accept my presence and fell in step next to me. _I am just another night-time predator,_ my mind whispered. _Wild, not human. A jungle creature. _I believed that whisper. Why shouldn't I? I was certainly treated like one.

We walked in silence for a while, but eventually I knew I must retrace my steps to the palace before the sun rose. I turned and presently the leopard looked back, but only in mild curiosity. It sprang into a tree and was soon out of sight. There was a faint twinge of sadness and, strangely, affection. I had felt more in common with the big cat than I did with any man, even the well-meaning Nadir.

Animals did not judge you.

Animals did not care if you were a monster…


	2. Chapter 2

By the time the courtyard was in view, the brilliant Persian sun was showing its first rays over the horizon. Returning to my rooms, I sank down onto the low cushioned bed, sighing. Another day of violence and death. I did not hate being the khanum's Angel of Doom, as the "entertainment" involved provided an outlet for my reawakened sense loathing for humanity, but it was simply pointless. Tricks to amuse a stupid child.

Plus, the Khanum's insistence for "amusing deaths" greatly delayed my progress on the new temple for the shah. In the jungle, I was tempted (not for the first time) to simply disappear into the forest's welcoming embrace, never to return to the palace. But I could not leave until that damned temple was finished!

Groaning in frustration, I rolled onto my back, staring up at the ceiling. How had I gotten into this? I turned my head as Nadir entered unannounced, saw the body, checked in surprise, then carefully picked his way around it to stand above me. When I made no move to rise, he raised an eyebrow.

"Who was the poor wretch this time?"

He gestured to the figure on the floor. I sat up.

"What? Oh. Just another little trick of the Khanum's. She throws these—well, you can hardly call them _assassins_—these enormously deluded bounty hunters at me from time to time. I daresay I've made a lot of enemies in more places than just Persia!"

Nadir sighed and signaled a servant to drag the body out. After the corpse was gone, he turned and faced me, looking directly into my misaligned eyes without flinching.

"Erik," he began, "you cannot keep up like this! These drugs," he spread his hands helplessly, "this violence! Can't you see? When _murder_ becomes as easy as breathing…" he trailed off.

I twisted briefly to put on my mask, then stood. Even though I was younger than Nadir, only in my early twenties, I was at least four inches taller and very much the stronger man. I could easily kill him—I can kill anybody, if I really want to—but I had to admit, he was my friend. Or, at least, not an enemy. I looked down at him now with an ironic smile.

"Well, what am I supposed to do? Bid them a good evening and let them kill me? They certainly have no qualms about murder." He didn't smile, and suddenly I had the feeling that he was right.

Once again leaving the harem of the shah's bloodthirsty mother, I strode down the wide, airy corridor, fuming silently.

_That Khanum _bitch_! What the hell does she _want_ from me?! I'd like to see _her _in that torture chamber! I'd like to _—my angry thoughts were interrupted as I passed into a courtyard and stopped dead.

Ahead, a hunting party was just arriving from the chase, their riotous laughter echoing across the tiles. That in itself was not too bad, as lesser nobles tended to get full of themselves after any sort of remotely dangerous activity. But slung in between two men, tied to a spear, a beautiful tawny form hung limp and lifeless and bloodstained. A leopard.

Even from a distance, I recognized it as the one I had seen earlier that morning. That nicked ear, that peculiar cluster of spots near the flank…With an terrible cry of grief and fury I leapt at the men, drawing a knife from my belt. They glanced up, but it was too late. I was upon them.

And I killed. I killed in a blind rage, slashing and hacking, oblivious to screams of pain and terror, then, losing my grip on the knife, I used my bare hands, not bothering to defend myself against their own desperate efforts to retaliate. The blue tiles grew slick with blood—not all of it from the hunters—and still I attacked madly, like a cornered animal, positively blazing with hate.

When the slaughter was over, seven men out of the eight lay dead. The survivor had been on a horse, and I did not see any way to bring him down without harming the animal. He had galloped off, no doubt to summon reinforcements. But I did not care.

Panting, I kneeled next to the leopard, shoving a body off of it unceremoniously. I untied its still frame from the spear with trembling fingers, viewing with horror and disgust the multiple stab wounds on its' side, none in the area of vital organs. It must have taken a long time to die. I stroked the lovely head, brushing off the dirt and blood crusted to the fur. The movement made me wince, and a dark flower of blood blossomed on my shirt. I had been stabbed! I looked down at the dead cat, and suddenly I was a boy again, holding a dog in my arms and crying hysterically.

_Sasha… _


	3. Chapter 3

I looked up as the sound of shouts and the rumble of horse's hooves drew near. Ten men galloped up, and I was instantly surrounded by nine very sharp swords leveled at my throat. Nadir, one of the party, looked around in shock at the carnage.

"Allah," he breathed, then jumped down and hurried over, careful not to tread on any of the dead men.

Crouching down in front of me, he peered hard into my downcast eyes. When I did not meet his gaze, he pursed his lips and stood to face the others.

"Remove the bodies. And," he lowered his voice, "if you do not bring word of this to the Shah, you might find a…well, let's say, a sign of my gratitude waiting for you in your rooms. Now go!"

The horsemen, with expectant murmurs, collected the bodies of the hunters and rode off, their steeds slipping a little on the blood-slick tiles. Nadir waited until they were gone, then helped me to my feet, frowning as the red stain on my shirt spread alarmingly.

"You should see to that. I suppose one of them had a knife?" I nodded.

The Persian sighed and looked down at the leopard sadly.

"Those hunters did not know how to kill. It is a pity they chose such a beautiful animal." He was silent for a moment, then straightened and said briskly, "Come, go to your rooms. I will send for a doctor."

He began to leave. I hurried to my quarters and sank down on the bed gratefully. I was quite dizzy: that knife-wound must have been deeper than I thought!

Nadir entered as I unbuttoned my shirt, followed by a young, rather nervous individual who must have been the doctor. He said nothing but immediately got to work on my injury, being careful, I noted, to avoid eye contact, even though I was wearing the mask.

"Erik, what were you thinking?" Nadir broke the rather awkward silence. "Attacking those men, in plain daylight, for Heaven's sake! If you really must kill someone you may want to be a bit more tactical about it next time! Why did you do it, anyway? Was it the cat? I understand if you like animals, but it was just one leopard!" I opened my mouth to reply and struggled angrily to sit up, but sank back quickly at the loud objections of the doctor.

"Just one leopard?! " I snarled, then took a deep breath and winced. "I'm sorry, Daroga. My temper is quite unmanageable these days. Yes, it was the leopard. I saw the same one earlier and I felt—OW! What are you doing?!"

The doctor jumped and began hastily babbling elaborate apologies until I glared at him. He shut up and let me continue.

"I felt attached to it. It had seemed so peaceful and alive and beautiful …and when I found it dead, with all those hunters laughing and talking and just being so uncaring about it, I lost control."

I did not mention my flashback. Some things should be left unsaid. When I had finished speaking, there was a grim silence. The doctor, his job done, stood, bowed to Nadir, flashed a panicky look at me, and left. I stood carefully.

"You can go now, Daroga," I said.

To my surprise he didn't protest, and walked out without another glance. I was utterly astonished. Had I said something? I leaned out the door arch, staring at Nadir's receding back.

"Nadir!"

He turned. "You should rest, Erik," I heard him call, "I'm sure the Khanum will want to see you soon, and for your sake I hope you have your strength up."

Bewildered, I returned to the bed.


	4. Chapter 4

Sure enough, I was summoned by the Shah's mother the next day.

My injury was nearly healed, but my seething anger was not. If she dared to push me too far… well, she might sustain a few injuries herself!

I arrived at the harem and was ushered into her softly lit rooms, and left alone. I glanced around. Everything, from the rich drapes on the wide windows to the lavish rug on the floor, positively reeked of spoiled luxury. This was not a woman accustomed to being refused.

"Erik…"her serene voice came from behind a curtain, and she stepped into a pool of muted sunlight.

I stared.

The Khanum was dressed in nothing but a thin gossamer veil that didn't try too hard to conceal her figure. And what a figure!

With some difficulty, I wrenched my eyes away and stared furiously at a potted plant in the corner. The room was suddenly very hot and my pulse was pounding in my ears.

_She was standing next to me!_

"What is wrong, my dear?" she purred seductively, "Why don't you look me in the eye?"

Then, suddenly, she reached up and snatched off my mask. I stiffened and my hands clenched. I forced myself to stay exactly where I was, staring at the plant as though it was the most interesting thing in my life.

I was trembling with rage and counted it a miracle that I hadn't already turned on my tormenter and broken her neck.

"Come, now," the Khanum said, drifting into my view. She waved the mask teasingly in front of my face. "If you want this, you will have to come with me… and that is not so hard, is it?"

"Madame," I growled, feeling my self-control begin to slip away, "please…"

She laughed lightly. A bead of sweat slid down my face. I was desperately hoping for someone—anyone—to walk in and interrupt this madness. Who cared if they saw my face? I just wanted to escape!

An arm brushed my shoulder as the Khanum twined her fingers in my hair.

"Come to me…" she whispered, "you know you want to, darling."

Part of me did want to. Very badly. Any other girl and I might have done it, but… I made up my mind.

Suddenly, afraid that I would give in to temptation, I whirled around and slammed the shocked Khanum against the wall, my hands curling around her fragile throat. I leaned close to her. In her eyes was undisguised terror now, and she tried frantically to break my iron grip. Our faces were inches away.

"Listen,Madame," I hissed, "do _not _try to toy with me. You have no idea what you are dealing with. I will build for you and I will even kill for you, but I _will not play your games!_ If you do _anything _like this again, I swear to God, or Allah, or whoever the hell is up there that you will not live to see the night. Is that understood?!"

She nodded wildly, her face purple. I let go and watched her slide to the floor, gasping. The mask had fallen from her hands, and I picked it up and replaced it. Then, turning my back on her ladyship, I strode from the room.

I shoved past the startled guards and went straight into the jungle. I walked around aimlessly for a while, fuming. I felt like banging my head repeatedly into a tree just to get the image of the Khanum out of it!

I had done the right thing, hadn't I? Surely…

I stopped. Something had made a noise, very close. There it was again: a sort of chirp.

Curious, I bent over and pulled back a fern, and gave a cry of astonishment. A leopard cub the size of a large puppy was nestled in the leaves, staring up at me with frightened eyes.

It was thin and dirty, but the dark spots were unmistakable. I crouched down, trying to calm it.

"Where's your mother, little one?" I asked softly, a horrible suspicion building in my gut. At the sound of my voice, the leopard came forward hesitantly and rubbed against my outstretched hand. At that moment, I knew I couldn't leave it.

If its mother was the leopard the hunters had killed, or if it was a different cat altogether, it didn't matter.

The cub was hungry and scared, and if nothing was done, it would die.

Quickly, I picked it up and hurried towards my rooms, being careful to avoid other people.


	5. Chapter 5

I was breathless with anxiety by the time I entered the arched doorway and emerged into the wide, airy apartments. I set the leopard down carefully. Then there was a knock.

"_Damn!_"

I looked around wildly for a moment, then went to the door and opened it a crack. Nadir was standing outside.

"Erik! What happened? I saw you run into the jungle."

I shrugged and said brightly, "Just getting some exercise! Nothing wrong with that, surely?"

Evidently the khanum had decided to keep our little chat a secret for the time being. Nadir squinted. "Are you all right? You seem a bit… odd."

He tried to look past me into the room. I moved to block his line of sight.

"My dear Persian, I am perfectly fine-No! Don't come in! I'm, uh, working on something that I won't bother you with. It's rather dangerous, you understand."

He stood for a moment longer, then shrugged. "Alright. I'll leave. I can take a hint, you know!" I nodded in thanks and closed the door, then opened it again as an afterthought.

Nadir was still standing there. "Daroga," I said, "could you possibly find me a couple of pounds of raw meat? Thank you!" I slammed the door before he could say anything else.

To my surprise and relief, the meat was delivered, no questions asked. The little leopard-which I'd nicknamed Bashere-ate hungrily. And that night, as he slept on the bed, I began to see that I had made a new friend.

Several weeks passed in quick succession. Miraculously, the Khanum did not call for me at any time, nor did any armed men show up on my doorstep in search of my head!

But, perhaps even more astonishing, no one discovered Bashere. He had now grown quite large, and spent most of his time away in the jungle. I did not need to supply him with any more food; he often came back bearing gifts of antlers and bloody leg bones, which I graciously accepted.

However, in the back of my mind, I knew that the inevitable must happen. These weeks of happiness could not go on forever, and when they stopped, it would be a quick and bloody ending. Evidently I had frightened the Khanum enough to convince her to leave me to my own devices for a while, but her patience was running short.

Unfortunately, I underestimated exactly _how _short it had become...


End file.
